February 28, 2012

About:"Brewed especially for the season, this bright citrusy unfiltered lager is both satisfying and refreshing. It’s the perfect transition from winter’s heavier brews to the lighter beers of summer. This hazy golden brew is brewed with only pale malts (Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland) for a crisp maltiness and honey malt for a slight sweetness. The beer is brewed with 100% Tettnang Tettnanger Noble hops (from original hop gardens in the foothills of the Alps), a half pound per barrel, to produce a unique, bright orange-citrusy aroma and taste of orange blossom honey."

Thoughts: Poured a very light yellow. Nice puffy white head that stuck around for a while. Somewhat transparent with a lot of carbonation bubbles rising up.

Well this smells pretty good and not light at all (a concern of mine among Sam Adams beers, scent and taste-wise). Major citrus, honey, wheat and floral notes for the most part. Nice mix of hops and malt present, with the hops really standing out in the scent.

It's got a very nice mix of the hops and malts. They obviously made a nice choice with what they've used here, and by the looks of things, it was really simplistic. It really comes together quite well and leaves a distinct flow. Those blistering cold hops hit first and then slowly fall back while the pale and honey malts rise. The hops never fully retreat though, and their taste lingers throughout the entirety of the brew. It gets a little musty after a while. A bit like lemon rind and grapefruit, but not sour at all... pretty sweet actually. Like edible flowers. I've got issues with balance when it comes to beer. I tend to lean towards the extreme and prefer dominance in certain areas depending on the style and ABV. Perhaps it's because quite a few balanced beers I have tried simply seemed bland. This one however, is not one of those. Maybe it's the one-two punch of pure ecstasy that this beer delivers, but I couldn't stop thinking about it for the next few days.

Mouth feel is a light medium and very drinkable. Very good for a sipping beer as well, ladies.

This is pretty crisp and a little bit grassy, but a sweeter grassy. Very flowery. Like running through a grassy field full of wildflowers while burping up pale ale. I really enjoyed this beer and picked up another bottle after work to do some non-review drinking. This is an astonishing release by a company that I haven't had the best track record with, and I can see why it's a seasonal. Why spoil your customers with the good shit! Huh? The price is just right for a 22 oz. as well.

About:"Dark, Fierce and Blustery. Across the cold and brackish waters of the Baltic, the English porter was transformed, from a mild ale to a dark and complex later that confounds definition. Immersed in dark, roasted malts and a bold citrus hop character, these big and contrasting flavors are brought together with the smoothness of a lager for a brew that's bold, mysterious and full of flavor."

Thoughts: Poured a very dark raspberry color that I've never seen before in a beer, and it was pretty cool. The head was thick and foamy right from the build, with a cream color and around the edges, a bit of light brown and a yellowish tint. Very strange and interesting look to this beer.

Starts off with a instant sweetness and then suddenly an ultra bitterness rushes in, attacking facial nerves. There's a peppery alcohol fume after the swallow, and an almost unnoticeable caramel background once that fades.

Mouth is a medium, very bubbly... yet easily swallowed and leaves a clean trace.

I liked the initial smell of this beer more than the taste. I let it warm and the malts start to come through a lot more, not that the hops were standout or anything when it was cold. It tastes a bit soapy to me though. I've read reviews where people describe a soapy taste, but I've only experienced that one other time (with Dogfish Head Hellhound - Review on the way). That was a bit of a dish soap taste though, and this one is more like a bar soap like Dove. I don't know if I would say that it tastes "better" once it warms, but the taste is more obvious.

Sadly, I'm not really a fan of these two new brews that Sam Adams put out. The tastes of both are well, unique, but they didn't make me happy so I'm leaving them for other beers. It would have been cool if they had four new Batch 1's instead of just two and Batch 2's of Griffin's Bow and Tasman Red... but those two were the best of all six of these so I can see why. It still should have been four new ones this time, and then 2n'd Batches of the other two. Meh.

February 27, 2012

About:"Smokey and Rich with a bit of Mischief. Unusual and playful, this half-breed brew begins with a rush of smoky, almost savory, aromas and flavors. The distinctive campfire smokiness of a rauchbier lingers and begins to reveal the rich and velvety malt smoothness of a double bock with notes of toffee and caramel. This roguish brew transforms from its bold start to a hearty and satisfying finish."

Thoughts: Cinder Bock poured a very rich and deep hued mahogany. An absolutely beautiful color. The beer is almost transparent and carbonation bubbles are rising all over the place. The tinted off-white head was very slow to form and left nothing but a ring around the edge of the glass after about a minute.

The scent is very light on this one. There's hardly anything at all. Caramel candy and smoke is what I'm getting, but it's so faint.

Well unlike the smell, the taste of this just exploded in my mouth on the first swig. This is one strange beast. I'm going to have to examine the tastes to figure out what this is, but while I think about that the very last bit I'm getting is a strong burn of alcohol. Okay, I'm getting a lot of smoke, toffee and a caramel background, and... that's about it. I have a feeling that I'm drinking this way too soon. Then again, it's not exactly my favorite style either so who knows. There's a touch of spice in there. After a while I notice that the taste never goes through any changes. It's very up-front and it is what it is: One note, and not exactly bland, but just bland enough.

Mouth feel is a light to medium that's easily drinkable, and it's kind of silky.

I don't know about this one. Something about it just feels incomplete. I want to like this one, but uh, yeah, it's not really going to happen I don't think. It's a heavy alcohol, smokey malt bomb with a quick rush of flavor that instantly fades away, leaving a hazy cottonmouth of an aftertaste. It's not bad at all. It makes me wonder what this would have tasted like a year from now, but not so much that I'd spend the money to find out. :( Oh well, Batch #2 of Griffin's Bow was just released with this. Maybe I'll do something along those lines with that one.

I've been bumming around the stores waiting for this to arrive and I finally found one amongst a thrashed display of one and two year old figures (next to the two new Optimus RID Prime figures that it must have shipped with). This is Transformers: Prime - Voyager sized 'Robots in Disguise' Megatron [The second Megatron figure in the Prime series, (with a brand new yet similar looking mold) but the first Voyager (Second biggest to Leader Class) and stand alone piece]. Series 1.5, and release 002, but not the First Edition. Confused yet?

TF:Prime Megatron comes in a really nice window package box with some cool artwork on one side and a mini-bio on the other. It's a pretty standard bio for the guy and everything is presented nicely. His stats have been fairly similar throughout the last 30 years. I had to cut two strips of tape to open the box, nine fibrous threads to remove the figure and his fusion cannon... then three more strips of tape to loosen the plastic backing so I could cut another thread to remove his extra claw weapon. Pain in the ass? You betcha! But at least the wires aren't made out of... uh, wire, anymore.

Straight out of the box this second Megatron from the Prime 'RID' series is pretty impressive. Sadly, I don't as of yet own the First Edition (never came upon it), which is a bit smaller scale, more of a silvery color and more beautiful. The gimmick of the RID figures is apparently translucent plastic parts. In Megatron's case, he's mostly all light gray with a silver face, a few off shades here and there... and royal purple (a color signifying his Supreme Decepticon Pride) which is both solid and a lot of transparent. I like translucent parts so I've got no problem.

The head sculpt is pretty fucking awesome once you get a closer look at it, and the figure holds up pretty solid. His fusion cannon has a push switch that slides a middle blade outward and two outer blades around and down that form his Forearm Sword. When you press the feature and it all combines together, and orange LED light shines like a laser sight (which you gotta admit is pretty badass!). Once transformed, Megatron is of course a gnarly Cybertronian Jet. His claw weapon connects to his Cannon which then pegs onto the top of his Jet mode, producing a much needed third darker gray color to offset the light gray and purple.

This version of Megatron is a strange mix of the Film version, Animated and little bits of previous. And I think it works magnificently! He's not all jumbled and unrecognizable as the film version, but still some of the better attributes from that design remain which is nice. Overall the design is sleek and menacing. The only extra kibble on this figure is an incredibly small backpack with some shoulder wings that nothing can really be done about. You can fold them completely back so they're not visible from the front, but then they're protruding outward from the side angle, or you can store them up or downward. Storing them downward shows off his jagged pointy spiked shoulders a bit more, whereas upward you get some extra upper body and shoulder width. Either way it looks OK to me, but I think I'll keep them up. A closer look, coming soon...

About: "Enter the Labyrinth, a multi-dimensional black ale. Discover the complex intermingling of black licorisha nd toasted oak. Seek the subtle hints of bittersweet chocolate. Flavors are enhanced when served cool, not frigid. / Labyrinth Black Ale, from Uinta's new Crooked Line, was triumphant in its first competition since it was conceived earning a Gold medal in the Imperial Stout category of the competition at the 2010 North American Brewers Association Awards. Aged in rye barrels."

Thoughts: After about five minutes of pacing back and forth between trying to pry this fucking cork out, I wiped the sweat from my brow gave it one last tug. It didn't even pop, either. This one must be playing hard to get with me! Labyrinth poured a nearly pitch black straight out of the bottle. That's rare. The frothy head is one of the darkest I've seen as well, resembling a rich brown cocoa color.

Smells heavily of chocolate malt, very boozy and there's a little bit of that black licorice underlying there. It doesn't really smell fruity, but rather just a bit tangy.

Hmm. I actually expected a bite of my first sip, but things remained calm. Interesting. This is very, very malty. On the second gulp there's a tingling of fumes, and that subtle black licorice taste. Confession: I love black licorice! Can't stand the red shit. It's pretty mellow in this beer though... like way too mellow. I'm going to let the second half of the bottle warm up while I type this review to see if it stands out more later. After a few gulps and breathing in for a while, the oak barrels that this was aged in becomes more apparent. There's some light sawdust smoke on my tongue. Better keep drinking. Fifth gulp and I got major alcohol haze with this one and a lot more wood. That's pretty much it.

Mouthfeel is very rich and creamy. Thick. Mouth coating and a little bit astringent.

I enjoyed this Black Ale / Stout, but was disappointed with the lack of black licorice tastes here. I was hoping that it would stand out a lot more than it did (I had the same minor problem with the Maple Syrup in the Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada collaboration Life and Limb). Maybe I'm just hard to please. This is my first Uinta beer, and I'm sure I'll be trying two or three more of their Crooked Line sometime soon. The artwork on this bottle is really cool and eye catching, and of course, I can never pass up a Black Ale. Next time I lay down thirteen bucks, I want double that licorice though!

About:"We recently brewed a beer called Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA as a benefit for Japanese tsunami relief. We created this very special IPA, brewed with 100% Maris Otter Malt and Belgian Candi Sugar. Once we decided to tie it all together with the addition of Japanese Sencha Green Tea in a dry-hop, the rest of the recipe came together easily. We included hops that we believe would blend well with the tea flavors, and we went non-traditional, at least in the sense of American IPAs. After bittering with Warrior hops, we used Crystal and New Zealand Pacifica for flavor. And then for the first dry hop, we again used Crystal and Pacifica, and added a brand new hop variety, Aramis, from the Alsace region of France. Then we went all Japanese for the 2nd dry-hop, with Sorachi Ace whole lead hops and the Sencha Tea."

Thoughts: A pretty interesting looking beer, even before it comes out of the bottle. Very orange look to it and there's an absolute ton of sediment lingering on the bottom in there. Green tea leaves as well perhaps? Don't know yet. Let's take a look. Well, I poured it all in there! It poured a very off-orange, burnt amber mix with a tinted almost orange toned off-white head. Perhaps due to my violent half pour it took up half of the glass. It took about four minutes for it to die down before I could do about three or so more mini pours and get it all in there. Even then the half finger head that remained didn't seem to want to fade at all. As I pick up the glass and hold it in front of this white screen, I can see what appears to be about a million or so particles floating within the brew. Some of them are falling towards the bottom of the glass, but most are suspended in the murky dusk.

It smells pretty damn good, and interesting to say the least. That strong IPA nose gets out there first, tickle to the nostrils, and then there's a bit of faded green tea laying around in the back. It's citrusy, and the longer it's breathed in, the colder and more ferocious those hops become.

Time to taste this sucker. Sweet and sour sauce. It goes through little phases while holding it in the mouth. Wow. That taste after swallowing is crazy, like mandarin oranges and lemon peel. There's a bit of a hazy froth that suddenly spikes like a fresh burst of honey glaze. The fallback of the green tea blends excellently amongst the fuzzy alcohol fumes.

This beer is pretty thick, and a little bit heavy, but it tastes sweet and has no unpleasant occurrences.

Mmmm... yeasty! This fruity, strong and medicinal brew is not only quite enjoyable, but also apparently went to a good cause. "A wonderful spirit of camaraderie, cooperation and mutual support exists in the world of craft brewing. We have harnessed this spirit fully in the crafting of this special collaborative brew dedicated to the resilient people of Japan who are bravely endeavoring to overcome the tragedy of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami." Go buy a bottle and enjoy it with some ramen. Trust me on the beer and ramen mix, I'm an expert on this sort of thing.

February 25, 2012

About:"Our brewers’ intention on Hops Infusion was to create a complexity of hops flavor and aromas, not found in any other beer. Made with seven hop varieties, this deep copper-orange IPA is loaded with juicy hop notes of pine, lemon zest, and a layer of pink grapefruit and a strong foundation of toasted caramel malts underneath it all give this beer a complexity that’s unparalleled. Hops Infusion weighs in at 6.2% and is available year-round. In case you are wondering, the seven varieties are Cascade, Pilgrim, Centennial, Liberty, Saaz, Fuggle and E. Kent Golding."

Thoughts: Poured a totally glowing orange amber shade with a thick as all hell fluffy bubbly head that was pretty darn white but just a tad orange itself as well. This beer is incredibly hazy and there's hardly a bubble rising when I check through it.

The scent is strong with this one as it hit me during the pouring, and let me tell you, it is beautiful. I'm getting some spicy sweetness

Sweet candied hops up front. I'm getting a gentle soothing of caramel like tones, and peach(!) of all fruits. Cool. It's almost a little bit grassy towards the back of the tongue but not really. This brew is pretty smooth tasting. Low bitterness. Sweet, mild and fruity. Enjoyable.

Mouth feel is very frothy and bubbly, and it's almost like swallowing air. Interesting.

This is a pretty unique tasting IPA. I really didn't know what to expect at all, but I don't think I was expecting something this drinkable. I pounded the thing in four gulps (which I don't ever do in reviews). It was pretty refreshing too. I'm not exactly blown away or anything, but this is a pretty quality beer and I found myself really enjoying it. Too bad I hear it's getting discontinued.

Dirty and Naughty! ... and showering. That's right. It's about time that Neve Campbellgets naked!

Kinda. Well, that's my so called life... you know, ever since Party of Five caught my attention, and then came The Craft... and after that, Scream(!), I've been so obsessed with this Neve that I've got uber-realistic, paper mache life-size sex dolls in her likeness all over my mom's basement. All wet and rotting n' shit. Gotta make some new ones soon, but it's hard to do so, being so attached to the one's I've defiled already. Aw, shucks. Anyways, here's some pictures of her from whatever movie I was talking about:

Neve Campbell has a very provocative and arousing scene in this film where she engages in the ever so complicated Fully Clothed Sex. I myself am particularly fond of fully clothed sex scenes, though, I'm not really sure why. Gregory Lamberson directed one of them in his film Slime City actually, and it worked out pretty well with how the whole film flowed... vibewise (that a word?). I think the scene works out well here too. Plus I just love the looks on Neve's face as she's gettin' it from the back.

What an amazing bathroom!

Not the most flattering shot of her arm hair.

"When Will I Be Loved" has bookend shower scenes of Neve Campbell nude and they'll really tastefully done I'd say. There's a maturbatory sequence, but most of the time she just washes her hair. And she washes it a lot. Her hair in this movie is actually a character in itself. She also stares at herself in the mirror a lot too. As for the film itself, there's a good chance that if you were to see it, you'd most likely end up seriously hating it. Perhaps I'll go through the chore sometime soon and let you know with a review. We'll see.

February 23, 2012

About:"Samuel Adams Imperial Stout was brewed with seven different varieties of malted barley, each delivering its own unique flavor for the beer. But this beer is not a “malt bomb”. It is balanced by 50 BUs of East Kent Goldings hops that have a clean earthy aroma and pleasant bitterness. This is a colossal beer that should be savored and enjoyed. Malt Varieties: Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe and Copeland pale malts, Caramel 60, Munich, Special B, Smoked Malted Barley, Roasted Unmalted Barley, and Malted Wheat / Hop Variety: East Kent Goldings / Yeast Strain: Samuel Adams ale yeast."

Thoughts: Poured a pitch black with a slow to form chocolate colored head that lasted just over a minute before darkening around the corners and leaving a puddle of large bubbles and foam in the middle and around the rim.

Alcohol heat is the first thing that hits me as I lean in. It creeps up the nose and tickles with a tingling sensation. It smells strong. Cafe Mocha scent all around, and a hint of sugary sweetness.

Bitter coffee grounds. Fruityness. High alcohol. After swallowing and the tastes start to fade it's like the smell of grinding coffee beans or walking through the coffee isle at the supermarket. Malty, chocolatey, and it gets a lot sweeter as it warms. The bitter coffee grounds flavor fades as it warms and you drink it, leaving an alcohol haze with a little bit more of that fruity chocolate. It's a little bit grassy and tart which is a nice offset to the malt of the drink. It's a bit of a cloudy haze of booze, and good for a totally-not "malt bomb" of a brew.

Frothy and thick. Little bit sour at first, but that fades.

This is an OK stout. It's not funky or unpleasant. In fact, it tastes quite nice, for a total malt bomb! I'm highly grateful for the heavy alcohol content presenting itself here. It seems a little light though in other areas, like it's just lacking a little bit somehow. I wouldn't go as far as to say that it's boring, but it's a bit repetitive. You know, for a tasty brew. Not exactly a one-note brew, but it falls flat on its ass. Thumbs up for the booze though.

About:"This thick, rich ale was brewed with plenty of caramel and roasted malts, and subtly spiced with American Chinook and Willamette hops. We’ve accentuated the natural smokiness of the brew by adding a small amount of beechwood-smoked malt and aging the brew in an oak whiskey barrel, which also adds notes of oak and vanilla.

We've brewed our Black Cauldron Imperial Stout to recognize and honor the women in the history of brewing. Brewing has been women's work since the dawn of civilization. In all ancient cultures, beer was a gift from a goddess, and women maintained status and power through their skills as brewers. This remains true today in indigenous cultures from Asia to Latin America, Africa to remote villages in Scandinavia. Around the world, women baked bread and brewed their own beer."

Thoughts: Poured pitch black through and through with a large bubbly chocolate colored head. Holding the glass up I'm seeing some light speckles in suspended animation near the bottom.

First approach is a super strong blast of alcohol to the face! Fruity hops blast forth before the chocolate malt starts to come through. There's a slight hint of coffee, a smokey aura and there's a bit of spicy pepper crawling up the nostrils.

Total candy at first. Raisins, dried fruit, slight vanilla... reminiscent of a Sherry or a Brandy. Very woody once swallowed. More woody than grassy. Smokey. I'm getting no bad taste or strangeness with this. In fact, this tastes pretty damn good. Coffee flavor seems to be the dominant factor in stouts, but here it's laying way low in a roasted subtlety and I'm lovin' it. It's mostly just a chocolatey hint, with that beach wood and fruitful tones along with a boozy haze and candied sugar. Quite lovely.

This is one thick and hearty brew. Very filling.

It finishes slightly dry, but not really. Things begin to even out once you're near the end of one bottle, and as it warms it becomes a little easier to drink. Aside from the initial bite, the alcohol seems to have fallen back a bit. I'm very pleased to find no unpleasantness within this brew. Plus, it's pretty cool to see more witches on bottle art as well, so that's a very cool added bonus.

February 20, 2012

...after running away as she usually does, Lotte of course sneaks back in to her home and the church. Only now, things are utterly fucked up! Not just kinda fucked up as usual, but immensely fucked up rather. Goat Head Satan is raping bitches, people have died in all sorts of Gruesome ways and she's having flashbacks of a life she may or may not have ever known.

The echoes of horses foot stomps haunt her around every turn.

After that it's all a ghostly Spoiler blur... but let's just say that, for the moment, things were made "right".

Later, after the church's collapse, young Lotte is seen walking through the remains of the once unholy palace to deliver flowers unto her parent's underground grave.

As the withering winds breeze by, her eye is caught by a bit of a Baphomet Seal peeking out of the dirt.

She uncovers it, and howling scream of sounds unknown are heard.

Then... the seal seemingly blasts itself out of the ground, welcoming the young girl.

This is probably my favorite screenshot out of this series.

And she smiles!

What did she see? It could be a number of things.. what's she seeing down there? Her parents? Are they Demons? Is it her past, present, or future? Is it something else altogether? She's obviously special. So what do you think?

My words are my own and as of posted from their creation forward I hereby claim originality to them. Pictures may prove to be promotional items and are the sole possessions of their respectful owners and/or companies. I do not sell, nor do I buy. I only rent, so therefore, nothing I own is truly mine.